American Honda is recalling more than 204,000 model year 2012-2013 CR-V, Odyssey and 2013 Acura RDX vehicles because of a defective gearshift lever. During sub-freezing temperatures, the brake-shift interlock blocking mechanism may become slow and allow the gear selector to be moved from the Park position without pressing the brake pedal.
These vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 114, “Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention.” If the gear selector is moved from the park position without pressing the brake pedal it can allow the vehicle to roll away, increasing the risk of a crash, Honda said in the required NHTSA defect filing.
Honda will notify owners and instruct them to take their vehicle to a Honda or Acura dealer. The dealer will install an updated brake shift interlock blocking mechanism free of charge as is required by U.S. safety regulations.
The recall is expected to begin 13 May 2013. Owners may contact Honda at 1-800-999-1009. Honda’s campaign recall numbers are S96, S97, and S98 respectively. Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 or go to www.safercar.gov.
